Today, good health is highly emphasized in our society. Proper maintenance of the cardiovascular system and various muscle groups requires a great deal of exercise.
Weight lifting is a popular type of exercise that provides a very effective means to achieve and maintain good health. The traditional method of weight lifting is “free” weight lifting. Free weight lifting is generally performed with barbells and dumbbells. A major advantage of free weight training is that it allows the user maximum freedom to exercise against a selected resistance in any manner chosen. The user is however confined to working against gravity. No resistance can be provided when moving the weights in a downwards direction. Furthermore, due to the danger and complexity involved, free weight exercises have been replaced to a large extent with exercises performed on exercise machines. Exercise machines provide more efficient ways to exercise and are much easier and safer to use.
An exercise machine operates by providing resistance to various exercising forces exerted or applied by the exerciser or machine operator. Most conventional exercise machines utilize adjustable weight stacks to provide the resistance.
Although machine weight lifting has many advantages over free weight lifting, conventional weight machines are not suitable in all applications. Most conventional machines are too expensive for the individual weight lifter to afford. It is often very burdensome, time consuming and dangerous for the operator to adjust the weights. The conventional weight machines are generally too heavy to be moved, and take up a great deal of space. The constant sound of clashing weights makes the machines too noisy for many environments.
In addition, conventional weight machines are not suitable for certain types of exercises. The weights provide both positive and negative resistance. Positive resistance is created when the weights are lifted or pushed. Negative resistance is created when the weights are lowered or released. For some types of exercises, particularly “rapid thrust” type exercises, the sudden transfer of supporting energy from one set of muscles to another created by a sudden change in resistance can cause muscular strains and other injuries.
Therefore, there is a need for an exercise machine which does not rely on free weights for the resistance aspect of the movements.
There are numerous types of exercise machines and apparatus for use by individuals who wish to improve their overall physical fitness and strength. Many of the same machines are also used in the medical profession for physical therapy for patients recovering from injury or sickness.
Exercise devices are often used to simulate aerobic exercises such as rowing, cross-country skiing, and stair climbing. The use of aerobic exercise devices is preferred as they can provide a continuous, steady work-out at a convenient location, for example, at home or an exercise facility. In order to more closely simulate a particular activity, these exercise devices are equipped with hydraulic and/or mechanical devices that provide a resistive force to arm and leg movement. A typical stair-stepping type exercise device employing a hydraulic device for providing the desired resistive force is marketed by CSA, Inc. under the trademark ALPINE CLIMBER.
It is well known that exercising devices generally serve two purposes, the strengthening and rehabilitation of muscles. The older exercising devices generally use a series of pulleys and ropes for lifting weights.
Furthermore, athletes and other performers and artists, such as dancers, must regularly perform various specific physical exercises to maintain proper body conditioning. While traveling, the performance of such exercises may be inconvenient or impossible since many of the exercise routines require exercise machines or devices which heretofore were large and cumbersome and required attachment to a building support. Additionally, the size and immobility of the prior exercise devices restricted utilization in space-limited environments, such as apartments, offices, etc. It is generally important to these users for the exercise device to include at least some means for exercising the specific muscles that they primarily use. For example, a golfer may wish to exercise his or her core muscles in a golf swing motion, or the like.
Therefore, there is a need for a self-contained, hand-transportable portable exercise device for performing upper and lower body exercises.
There is a further need for a stable, freestanding portable exercise device which can be assembled into a compact, space efficient configuration.
There is yet a further need for a self-contained portable exercise device that is convenient for travel and space efficient for storage and use.
There is still further need for an exercise device that can be used to exercise specific muscles used in a specific manner.
A good exercising device should enable motions of exercise which alternately stress the agonist or antagonist. In each exercise, a muscle or a combination of muscles is working. In the compulsory return motion, the counteracting muscle or group of muscles is working. One-sided training resulting in uneven distribution of the muscles is counteracted by means of devices having a double-acting function. For optimum results, the muscle is to be exercised under maximum load during the entire movement. The training should be effected entirely on the exercising person's conditions and not on the conditions of the device, which applies both to sound persons and to those with reduced functions, the device preferably being settable in the range 1 kP-300 kP.
Double-acting training of groups of muscles counter-acting each other produces a flow of blood to the working muscles, which is constantly high during the exercise. By alternatively contracting and stretching the muscles they are made smoother and more flexible. The double-acting function, which is desired in an exercising device, is used by physiotherapists, inter alia for relieving the patients' muscles of tension and for increasing the patients' muscular strength. The physiotherapist's manual and strenuous can in many cases be taken over by a well-functioning exercising device by means of which the patient can exercise on his own according to instructions, without the physiotherapist's assistance. Finally, a well-functioning exercising device should permit exercising of all large group of muscles, but most of the exercising devices available on the market are not designed for this, but only for separate exercises.
Therefore, there is a need for an exercising device having a double-acting function, for exercising all large groups of muscles in the body.
Many types of multi-purpose exercise devices have been proposed, and Nautilus and other large bulky and expensive machines are enjoying widespread popularity. However, many persons cannot afford the time or money to visit a health club where the large exercise apparatus is normally found, nor do they wish to set aside a large portion of their living quarters to accommodate such a large and costly apparatus. Accordingly, there is a significant need for a small or compact and versatile exercising apparatus.